Tour of the Basque Country

Ultra-endurance records enter the territory of the superhuman Nature doesn't care about your training plan. When you step into the arena of ultra-endurance, the mountains and the elements demand everything you've got and then some. British rider Alex McCormack recently proved this by obliterating the world record for the furthest distance ridden in a single week. Covering an astounding 3,826 kilometers in just seven days, McCormack surpassed the previous record by a razor-thin margin of 12 kilometers. To put that in perspective, he rode roughly 500 kilometers more than the entire Tour de France distance, but instead of three weeks, he did it in one. The sheer brutality of the logistics is enough to make a seasoned mountain athlete pause. McCormack averaged 18.5 hours a day in the saddle, burning approximately 14,000 calories every 24 hours. The mental toughness required to sustain 546 kilometers per day—capped by a final, desperate push of 727 kilometers—is almost incomprehensible. This isn't just cycling; it's a war of attrition against the body's fundamental need for rest and homeostasis. The dangerous cost of sleep deprivation in the wild There is a point where the pursuit of a record crosses from extreme sport into genuine peril. One of the most harrowing statistics from McCormack’s ride was his final 40-hour push, during which he reportedly slept for only one hour. When you are operating on that level of sleep deprivation, the brain begins to fracture. Decisions become sluggish, and the line between reality and exhaustion-induced haze blurs. McCormack himself admitted that in his usual unsupported bike-packing races, he would have been forced to stop for safety reasons. However, this attempt was supported by a dedicated crew and a medical doctor. This shift toward "professionalized" ultra-endurance—where a team manages the athlete's safety and nutrition—allows riders to push much further than they ever could solo. But it also raises a controversial question: should we be cheering for athletes to bypass their survival instincts? While the achievement is monumental, the risks of hallucination, physical collapse, and long-term neurological strain are real. As boundaries are pushed further, the margin for error disappears entirely. Paul Seixas and the new generation of World Tour dominance While the ultra-distance world tests the limits of time, the UCI World Tour is testing the limits of pure power. Paul Seixas, a 19-year-old Frenchman, is currently sending shockwaves through the peloton. In a recent time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country, Seixas didn't just win; he dismantled a field of elite veterans. He maintained a speed a full 1 km/h faster than his nearest competitor, making riders like Primoz Roglic and Isaac Del Toro look human by comparison. We are witnessing an era where the "next big thing" seems to arrive every six months, but Seixas looks like the genuine article. The gap he created in a short, technical opening stage suggests a level of aerobic efficiency that usually takes a decade to cultivate. The cycling world is already speculating whether he is the only rider capable of eventually challenging the absolute dominance of Tadej Pogacar. For those of us who live for the struggle on the climbs, watching a teenager redefine the ceiling of performance is both terrifying and exhilarating. The controversial evolution of 32-inch wheels and technical gravel In the world of gear, the push for efficiency often leads back to the fundamentals of rolling resistance and stability. The "32-inch wheel debate" is resurfacing, particularly for taller riders who feel the standard 700c wheel is a compromise in geometry and handling. Custom builders like Naked Bikes are producing 32-inch gravel machines that promise better rollover and a more integrated feel for athletes over 6'4". This trend coincides with the evolution of digital training. Even Zwift has introduced technical gravel routes that require actual steering and tactical braking to navigate correctly. This shift mirrors the real-world move toward wider tires and lower pressures. For years, the industry insisted that narrow tires at high PSI were the fastest way forward, but the data has finally caught up to the intuition of rugged trail riders: volume and compliance equal speed. Whether it's a custom titanium frame or a digital simulation, the focus is shifting from "how light can we make it?" to "how much can the rider endure before they break?" Safety concerns in the age of extreme progression The drive to keep viewers engaged is pushing adventure sports toward a dangerous precipice. Parallels are being drawn between the current state of ultra-cycling and the world of freeride mountain biking, specifically events like Red Bull Rampage. To stay relevant, the jumps must get bigger, the lines more vertical, and the risks more extreme. The recent horrific crash of Adolf Silva, which left him paralyzed, serves as a grim reminder that there is a physical limit to what the human frame can withstand. In ultra-endurance, the danger isn't necessarily a 40-foot drop, but rather the failure of the heart or the loss of motor control while descending a mountain pass at 70 km/h after days without sleep. As athletes like Lael Wilcox prepare for round-the-world records, the community is debating where the line should be drawn. We celebrate the grit and the mental toughness required to conquer the wild, but we must also respect the fact that the wild is indifferent to our records. Finding yourself in the struggle is the goal—but you have to survive the struggle to tell the story.